The Opelousas courier., 1887-04-02
ABSINTI1E SLAVES,
Deplorable Effect OF a Most
Pernir!ious S~tinulant
ingredients Of the Drug. People who
lake. it The Result Produced.

A'klnthe is supposed to be made in
trace and Switzerland, and this sup
Position is based upon the fact that
4 Somebody ct fils' appears amid a lot of
french on the label, with the name
Farls and a red seal with a French in
scrlptlon ornamenting the cork. Swiss
aosinthe is said to be the best, but
whether any of the good kind ever goes
y tins country is unknown. The alb
slnthe is made by pounding up the
leaves and Towering tops of different
species of wormwocd and macerating
them in alcohol. After soaking, the
mixture is distilled, a little anise oil is
added, and the emerald liquor obtained
is the real absinthe. When 1umeric and
indigo and blue vitriol enter into its
composition, as it does in authorizations,
then iii really a splendid drink. Any
man who would drink it would surely
put an enemy into his mouth to steal
away his brains, but it would be only a
petty larceny, after all.
Powerful as astimulant, it has its cul-
inmates in a terrible reaction, and like
every drug, it is resorted to-, to
cure the evil it has caused, and
eventually e~nslaves the man or woman
who toys with it too freely. OF course,
all men do not become slaves to it, as
all men do not become opium iends who
shit" the pipe. But it's abad thing to
be accustomed to. The drip is the
fashionable way to drink it, but fashion
becomes forgotten by the absinthe slave,
and he soon drifts into taking it I'M
diluted and in enormous doses, just as
the morphine victim becomes accustomed
to taking enough of the sleepy drug to
Kill half a dozen men. Its terrible re-
suits have never become, in this city, a
matter of scientific observation or of
restrictive legislation, and, judging
from the drinking peculiarities of Ameri-
cans, they never will be.
In the eastern cities, however, i'm
ported victims of the drug are often
seen, AID in France, Italy and switzsr-
land it is regarded the greatest curse.
Its use in the army and navy of France
Is prohibited by law. 1t came into
notice at the time Of the Algerian war
from 1914 to 1847, when it was recon-
mended for use by the soldiers in their
liquor as a preventive of fever. It
developed in few years that it was
running the army. Observation by
medical men resulted in discoveries that
deadly as it was when pure, it was rem
dered even more so by authorizations. It's
use in the first place, impaired the d.
gestive organs and spoiled the appetite.
As a necessary consequence, sleeplessness
followed, with all the terrible torture
that that implies. The minds of the alb
sinthe fends became deranged; they saw
beautiful visions, such as it is alleged
the hasheesh eaters only know. They be-
came exalted and pitched to a high key,
and then there came the most terrible
depression, ending often in suicide and
oftener still in imbecility. Loss of til
and nerve power, degeneration of Rj
muscles and all the moral perverss4ns
springing therefrom were among its eff
fects.
Physical decay of the most disgust
ing kind was noticed in the victims, and
they had to be kept from public view.
These in n generation were not enough,
but like the curse of the Almighty the
terrible results Of the drink extended to
succeeding generations in imbecility,
distortion and diseases most terrible. On
this discovery the army and navy were
forbidden to use the liquof, but the
people were left to drink it, and in all
the big cities to-day the absinthe fend
is as promiscuous as the opium, NOR
phine and chloral victims are in America
Globe Democrat.